Look Don't Touch
by DeliriousMess
Summary: Series of prompts related to a mafia/mob!AU that I came up with awhile ago. Maybe some day I'll actually write it all out in a coherent story but for now, here's what I've got.
1. Chapter 1

"You must be the new recruit I've heard so much about!" A large man greeted him as Duke walked into the bar. Duke smiled and nodded as he shook the man's hand. He was a few steps above Duke in the chain of command, and he knew he had to be polite if he planned on advancing to his level.

"I've heard a lot about you. This your first time here?" The Street Boss asked, he pumped Duke's arm enthusiastically before sitting back down.

Duke adjusted his jacket, "Yes, sir."

The man grinned at him, "Then you are in for a treat. Our little Song Bird's the envy of the whole city."

The lights dimmed as the band warmed up. A single spotlight illuminated the stage and from behind the curtain stepped the most beautiful woman Duke had ever seen.

He must've been staring, because the Street Boss leaned across the table and said to him, "All the new recruits have that reaction. Remember son; look, but don't touch."

As the singer began her song, Duke knew that that was probably a promise he wouldn't be able to keep.


	2. Chapter 2

As the singer finished her set and bowed, the Street Boss next to Duke stood to applaud loudly. Duke followed suit, trying to refocus on why he was here; to make nice with the higher-ups.

The singer smiled at the audience, letting her eyes scan the crowd before her eyes met his and something changed in how she was smiling; would it be outlandish for him to think that it became the slightest bit brighter?

The Street Boss misinterpreted her smile, and waved for her to join them. She nodded slightly, bowing again, and stepped off the stage to join them at the back of the bar.

The Street Boss grinned at her as she got closer to the table, "Beautiful as always, Song Bird."

He leaned to kiss her cheek and she returned the gesture, her smile looking slightly strained as he touched her. She kept her eyes on Duke. He smiled at her, trying to belie the slight agitation he felt towards the Street Boss.

As he straightened, the Street Boss turned and clapped Duke on the back, "Song Bird, I'd like to introduce you to the newest addition to our little business; Duke Crocker."

She smiled sheepishly at him and offered him her hand, "Welcome."

Duke took her hand carefully and shook it, "A pleasure."


	3. Chapter 3

Duke tried not to hold her gaze or her hand longer than would be deemed necessary, but he didn't miss the way her hand squeezed his before she pulled away, or the slight spark in her eyes before she looked away.

"May I join you?" she asked the Street Boss, turning her smile back to him. Duke could have sworn there was a change in how she looked at the Boss compared to how she looked at him, but he was probably jumping to conclusions.

"Of course, Song Bird, of course," The Street Boss grinned, pulling out a chair for her. She smiled at him then at Duke, who smiled back at her.

"So, you got a real name, or did your parents just decide to write 'Song Bird' on your birth certificate?" Duke asked her as they sat.

She giggled at him, "No one 'round here calls me by it; I've been 'Song Bird' since I was hired."

The Street Boss smiled at Duke, a warning barely hidden there, "None of the girls were _anything_ before they were hired."

Duke nodded his understanding even as his agitation threatened to make him the hot head that got him noticed by the organization, "Of course. My mistake."

A waiter came to the table, and leaned down to say something to the Street Boss, distracting him momentarily. Duke risked glancing across the table at the singer, only to see that she was already looking at him.

When their eyes met she smiled, even blushed a little, and she looked away, shaking her head to try to use her dark curls to hide her face.

Duke just smiled back, thinking to himself, _Oh, I am in_ so _much trouble._

The Street Boss cleared his throat as the waiter left, and stood, pulling Duke back to himself. Duke and 'Song Bird' stood with him.

"Excuse me, I've apparently got a phone call." The Street Boss said, sounding slightly annoyed. Song Bird held her hand out for the Street Boss who smiled at her and kissed the back of her hand.

The Street Boss turned back to Duke, "Take care of our girl here. But remember–"

"Look but don't touch." Duke finished, nodding at him.

The Street Boss beamed at him and clapped him on the back again, "I knew I liked you for a reason."

Duke just grinned back.

Once the Street Boss was gone, they sat back down. After only a moment of silence, she spoke.

"Jennifer."

Duke looked at her, confused.

She smiled at him, "My real name is Jennifer."


	4. Chapter 4

Set much later in the projected plot that I have for this AU in my head.

Duke had been her acting security guard/baby sitter for going on a month now.

And she was testing every part of his patience and his reserve.

 _Look but don't touch,_ he kept telling himself.

Until one night. A few of the higher-ups had taken her and some of the other singers out drinking and it was his job to get her back to her place in one piece; She was a favorite after all.

Duke did his best to steady her as she swayed on her feet up.

"Easy there, Drunky." Duke commented, righting her gently as she unlocked her door.

She smiled up at him, fumbling with her keys to get them out of the lock, "'M not that drunk."

Duke just scoffed at her as he wrapped his hand around hers and helped her pull the keys from the lock. She looked up at him, brown eyes bright and shining, and turned her hand in his and pulled him inside after her before he could pull back or protest. She kicked her door closed quickly, still swaying slightly, and pulled him further into the apartment.

"Ma'am," Duke tried to say after her, even as he let himself be pulled, "I don't think this—"

" _'Ma'am'_?" She laughed over her shoulder at him as she led him to the living room. She let his hand go to play some music, "I think I liked 'Drunky' better."

He very easily could've made some sort of crack about how he didn't know her last name—let alone her real first name—he only knew her as "Songbird" and "Ms. Songbird" already sounded ridiculous. Instead, he held his tongue and stood awkwardly in the middle of her living room.

She moved back towards him, having deserted her heels to sway less dangerously, and grabbed his hands. She smiled up at him, "You dance, Body Guard?"

He shook his head, trying to pull his hands away from her, "No, ma'am. I don't dance."

She straightened, looking dejected briefly, before a calculating glint appeared in her eyes, "You don't dance, or you don't dance with _me_?"

He straightened, keeping his gaze steady on her, but not answering.

That was answer enough.

She reached for his hand again, carefully, and when he didn't pull away—a mistake, he knew, but there had always been something in her eyes that interrupted the broken record of _Look but don't touch_ in his mind—when he didn't pull away, she threaded her fingers with his. She smiled at him again, "Oh, now why do you have to go and hurt me like that?"

She moved closer to him, pressing against him, "I see things, Body Guard. 'S one of the reasons the Boss likes me so much. You wanna know what I see when you look at me?"

She bit her lip as she looked up at him.

"I think you're gonna tell me whether I want you to or not," He mumbled at her, his eyes trained on her lips.

She reached up with her free hand and tugged lightly on his tie, "You want me."

Duke stiffened as she released his hand and his tie to push his jacket down over his shoulders until it fell behind him to the floor. _Look but don't touch._

She continued, "You want me and it _terrifies_ you. Like it should. But you wanna know _my_ big secret?"

The voice in his head trying to repeat _Look don't touch_ started to sound a bit like a record hitting a scratch until all that could play in his mind was _Touch touch touch_. Finally, he conceded to do just that and gently touched her neck until his fingers were in her hair, "I think I can guess."

She grinned up at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pull him down to her to kiss him. She flicked her tongue out against his lower lip and he opened his mouth further to press his tongue back against hers until she pulled back breathless.

When she did, he pulled back and studied her as a nervous laugh bubbled out of her.

"Oh. We are in such fucking trouble." She laughed at him.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a lie. Jennifer knew that.

Or, no, not a _lie;_ but a misunderstanding. It was a misunderstanding of what it was that they felt, of what she felt, of what they understood her to be.

 _I love you_ , they always said. _I love you._

And Jennifer always had to stop herself from saying, _No. You don't._

* * *

"Songbird" wasn't a person anymore than "Jennifer" was at this point. It was a name pinned to her for the way she would sing to herself in the house, for the way she would sing to distract herself. "Songbird" was an idea-was whatever the person she was with needed her to be. Sometimes that meant "Songbird" was a sympathetic ear or a gentle touch that went nowhere but meant plenty to the other party. Because in that moment, she wasn't herself anymore; she was who they missed, who they lost, who they wanted her to be, who they needed her to be. So when she responds to their sadness with a touch, they often cry and cling to her, they sob to her for penance or forgiveness-it didn't matter-and they say it to her over and over again, begging her.

 _I love you._

 _I miss you._

 _I love you._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I love you._

And she always just nods and tells them she knows, and that they are forgiven. For them, that is enough. For them, that's all they needed. So they leave the money with the owner of the house, and they leave, feeling as if they have finally been granted the forgiveness they hadn't received before. Feeling as if she loved them back.

* * *

Other times, "Songbird" meant something they could bury themselves in, could pretend, again, that she was someone else. They could pretend that when they cry out _I love you_ and collapse against her, that she was someone who means something to them. She does not hold them, she does respond, she just pulls away from them and takes their money.

There is no love when she is in the house.

No real love.

None of the girls remember what real is anymore.

But she watches and listens, the things they say when they think she doesn't listen-she is very good at disappearing. She learns how to go unnoticed, how to listen, how to speak, how to twist what they say near her so that she gets out of the house.

She sings when she is out of the house, and the world loves her in the Gilded Cage. She becomes Favored, she becomes...grand.

* * *

She sings, she smiles, she dances, she pretends this is good and that she is happy and willing, and for these things she is rewarded.

She sings, and the crowd sings back, _I love you, I love you._

And she always kisses her fingers to sweep it towards them to sing back, "I love you too."

She is allowed to go to her own apartment, she is allowed to shop, to eat, to do what she pleases. Until she is given a body guard.

* * *

When she asks why, all sweet and close to the boss that gave the guard dog to her, he just sighs _I love you._

She knows he doesn't mean it.

He loves the money she brings in. He loves the leash he has on her.

So she accepts the guard dog-"Duke" she learns is his name, though she wonders if that is a real name or if it is like "Songbird"-but she makes it difficult.

She slips away from him, she hides from him, she gets away from him, she will not let him into her world.

Because there are so very few things that are _hers_ in this life.

* * *

They break the one rule that will keep them both alive.

They look.

They touch.

But they will not say it.

She doesn't want to hear it from him, does it want it to be tainted by her other memories of when it was said to her. She just wants him.

He touches her when no one is looking, he pulls her against him, and calls her by her real name.

That is how he says it.

She looks for him when she sings, she tells him the truth.

That is how she says it.

They always return to each other.

There are so very few things that are _theirs_ in this life.


End file.
